Bruce Bucks

Do you ever feel like your just going through the motions and you feel uninspired? I was thinking the other day about ways that I get inspired. Inspiration provokes action, and propels you to be and do things beyond the ordinary. Inspiration gives you a drive and feeling of purpose as you set your sights on one particular goal. Today’s blog post is going to look into the ways that I get inspired. Inspiration causes me to find ways to better myself, to choose an alternative option for my life, and to live differently. Whenever I am inspired I feel like nothing else matters, and I’m living the way I’m supposed to live.

Reading Blogs:
We all have blogs that we follow that inspire us to live differently. The authors of those blogs are creative thinkers that live outside of the social norm. They see life with a perspective beyond pop culture, and chooses not to live like the Jones’s next door. As we read we wish we were in their shoes, and we dream about taking on characteristics just like them. These authors stretch your thinking and focus their blog on the inspiring ways of living; such as community, authenticity, global perspectives, and living outside the status quo.

Looking at Pictures
For me images depict more than what is captured within the frame. An image can display feelings and emotions. Images are not static instances in time, but they tell stories. An image shows us how a little girl grew up and became a mom, and eventually a grandmother. The wrinkles on her forehead tell a story. We all have a story to tell and images tell amazing stories. Especially images that allow you to dream and add your own interpretation to the picture. Some images allow you the opportunity to place yourself within the portrait. Images can take you to a place that you have never been before, and open your imagination up to something new.

Click Here and see how this awesome couple tells amazing stories through their photography.

Listening to Music
Music is an expression of how we feel. Sometimes artists use words to describe exactly what they feel, but other times the rise and fall of the instruments is enough. I get inspired by music, because of the way that it makes me feel. When I listened to Bon Iver’s Holocene I can’t help but want to be a part of something great. It makes me want to dedicate my life to serving the unfortunate. The words don’t all connect with my life, but as he cries out, “Once I knew I was not Magnificent” my throat tightens and I have this rush of inspiration pour over my spine. The feelings tell me that I am supposed to be a part of something bigger than I am now. That I was created to make a difference, to follow my dreams, and to love more than I have ever loved before. Music inspires and makes you feel things that you otherwise might never feel.

Reading a Book
Books inspire me, because they take you on adventures, and tell entertaining stories about characters that you can relate to. Books tell fictitious and true stories about the lives and experiences of others. I love reading a book and then all of the sudden you have this Aw ha! moment where you discover a new mystery about yourself. Or when you get to the point in the story where you feel as if the author is writing directly about you, and you don’t want it to end. I am currently reading, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller, and he talks about the art of creating a good story. We all get an opportunity to tell a story by the way that we live our lives. For instance if you allow your life to be dictated by the consumerism culture, then your story will become about consumerism and your quest to gain more. Each choice we make, each experience we take, allows us the opportunity to play out our story. Donald Miller’s book made me ask myself, What story are you telling? What story are you developing for your life and for your family?

I know that we all gain inspiration in different ways. Some of you might feel inspire while performing some activity, or you only feel alive and inspired when you’re outdoors. Maybe your a parent and your inspiration comes from the love of being a mom or dad. I encouraged you to seek out inspiration in all sorts of ways, because it will drive you to do great things in your life.

In the comments below, let me know if you get inspired in these same ways or if you have another form of inspiration that drives you through your life.

-Matt

[Photo Credit:liz-green.com]